The Creator made her gold. Solid gold. She was pure, beautiful, endowed with aesthetic appeal. We loved her, it was a wonderful feeling to belong to her. We called her home.
The spirit of Ubuntu reigned. We operated in concert and sung her anthem with a reverberation of a genuine sense of belonging. We stood definitely proud and wonderfully free.
But, her beauty lured some. Her healthy face, succulent and full breasts made them lust after her. They joined us as we praised her; they sung so beautifully, we were sold.
“They must have good intentions…”
And just like that, we let them in.
But alas, they raped, defiled, mutilated, and harassed our once virgin beauty. She was left broken and bare without the sparkle of health.
This isn’t Zambia.
Our once beautiful home has been turned into a painful desert, with nothing but weeds, twigs, bushes and shrubs.
The air is laden with corruption, disrespect for rule of law, disregard for human rights. There is freedom of expression, improperly so-called but no freedom after expression. There is a miasma of barbarism, crimes against humanity, cruelty and insensitivity.
The homeless have their shacks taken away; the orphans have their parents taken away still. Yes, even the little they have is taken away. The poor get poorer while the rich get richer.
Propaganda is rampant. Black is made to pass off as white? This isn’t Zambia.
We are made to beg for what is rightfully ours because selfishness has crept into our hearts. The ones meant to protect, hurt and kill instead. The lighthouse is covered by storms so that it fails to give light to the poor wayfarer.
The young who will be the leaders of tomorrow are mercilessly taken away for airing out their grievances.
One day, they committed a huge crime. They took away an innocent heroine who was a victim of circumstances. Her blood cries out from the ground. It demands justice. In a land so free, or so they say, no one should never have to beg for dear life.
Was Zambia at war? Did we have an intruder sent to disturb peace? Was she an enemy? Hell no, why then did she have to die a martyr’s death at the hands of the chosen protectors? This isn’t Zambia.
‘Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free?” proud of what? Free from what? The caged bird doesn’t sing of freedom. Landlocked in spiritual, political, social, economic and religious poverty; hiding behind a religious garb to cover our sins and cowardice.
The flag that once gave us pride makes us shudder.
The green that once stood for our resources has turned brown due to the change in the intellectual climate. The red that stood for the blood of our freedom fighters now stands for the innocent souls that have died at the hands of the so-called protectors!
The eagle doesn’t fly anymore; it’s dancing with chickens.
The Ubuntu in the black color is gone!
Our selfishness and short-sightedness has ruined us; our virgin damsel is ruined all because we couldn’t distinguish between love and lust. This isn’t Zambia.
This is not a political agenda; it’s a moral cry for social justice!
We have lost our beloved! The image we have now is not Zambia. It may look like it, it may even smell like it but this isn’t Zambia!
Our beloved is lost… but we must fight to restore whatever has remained; try and give her beauty for ashes.
We are in a mess but definitely not out of the Creator’s mercy.
This isn’t Zambia, but it can be.
BY Madaliso Daka
Politics and the illusion of democracy has spoiled our once great nation. Growing up sucks!
Yes. And we must all st asnd and be counted. We must redeem our country from the class of greed, corruption and the breakdown of the rule of law
Yucky picture… STOP abusing Vespers you idyots.
A beautiful girl like her should be represented by ANGELS not your vampires.
Of course it’s not Zambia… it’s Chambia now.
We are a people collectively responsible.
We are not even victims… a people that votes for corrupt politician, imposters, thieves and traitors are NOT victims BUT ACCOMPLICES.
You seat back and let other people decide for you by voting and when things go wrong… someone starts squeeking like a PIIIIGGG!
Welcome to Chambia, enjoy! Wink wink! Bikako na chivolumu!
Lets do something about it, lets not just talk and stay with hands hands folded before its too late, our silence has been mistaken for weakness and taken for granted
don’t incite violence you pig! This is Zambia, a nation controlled and protected by God. Your evil plans wont work!
The poem covers Zambia from independence days, full of promise and economic boom,investor-confidence to economic challenges,the rape of our rich natural resources by foreign powers, usurping of people’s confidence in leadership, the ruthless system of holding citizenry to captive through no freedom of expression while the rich get richer at the expense of the poor, embedded corruption, and the overzealous and brutal police service who take the law unto their hands and dispense justice in the best way they know: force and brutality resulting in the death of an innocent soul at UNZA. Where did it all go wrong? Definitely this is not Zambia!
The Eagle does not fly anymore but now dances with the chickens. This is a powerful line.
‘There is Freedom of expression but NOT Freedom after expression’ I am sure the major political players in our beloved Country will take note of this very clever observation.
thank you… But then, who is prepared to take leadership?
Under lungu , at no time as of now, has Zambia recorded the highest number of occasions of tear gas being used to smoke out opponents and percived opponents of lungu , or simple citizens exercising their right to peacfull demos…
Tear gas seems to be the weapon of choice for lungu and his team ….
What is the meaning of that ugly image
Powerful. And we need to all stand up and reclaim our country. Our main problem in Zambia is that refugees are ruling us in our own country. Lungu doesn’t understand Zambia because he doesn’t belong. He is not part of us. He doesn’t understand our Agriculture, our Education, our Mines, our Health, our flora and fauna. He has destroyed our environment thru the Chinese who are using advanced methods of cutting down timber. As a country we are bleeding. Nothing is going right under Lungu’s leadership.
He has suffocated us.
Why should we continue giving foreigners mantle of power? To suppress us and dehumanize us by turning us into beggers in our own country? To make us slaves and kill us? We need to stand up and fight through reasoning to reclaim our didnity.
LUNGU HAS SOLD US…
Lungu is full of ignorance and incapabilities, that is why he is always quiet when we expect him to show himself and show wisdom as father of the nation when ever we are struck by eventualities as a nation.
His timidity clearly shows that this guy doesn’t belong to us. He is a foreigner. He doesn’t understand our Cultures even. He doesn’t understand our history as a nation.
Country men, fellow citizens, we are in wrong hands. That’s why he doesn’t feel for us.
WE NEED TO STAND UP AND STOP HIM.
WE NEED TO UNITE FOR A COMMON CAUSE.
ZAMBIA CAN BE BETTER IF THIS WRONG PERSON IS REMOVED FROM POWER.